Automotive SEO Glossary

AI Overview

An AI-generated summary that appears at the top of Google search results, synthesizing information from multiple web sources to answer a query directly.

A link from another website to your dealership's website - one of the strongest ranking signals in SEO, indicating trust and authority.

Business Development Center

A dedicated team within a dealership that handles inbound leads, appointment setting, follow-up calls, and customer outreach across all departments.

An HTML element that tells search engines which URL is the preferred version of a page, preventing duplicate content issues when the same content exists at multiple URLs.

Online mentions of a dealership's NAP (Name, Address, Phone) on directories, listing sites, and business profiles - a key local SEO ranking signal.

Google's three performance metrics - LCP, FID, and CLS - that measure page loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability, used as ranking signals.

Cost Per Acquisition

The total cost of acquiring a new customer through a marketing channel - calculated by dividing total channel spend by the number of customers acquired.

Cost Per Click

The amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks on their ad - a key metric for measuring paid advertising efficiency.

Certified Pre-Owned

A manufacturer-backed program for used vehicles that have passed a multi-point inspection and come with extended warranty coverage and other benefits.

The number of pages Google will crawl on your website within a given time period - critical for large dealership sites with thousands of inventory pages.

Customer Relationship Management

Software that manages customer interactions, lead follow-up, and sales processes - tracking every touchpoint from initial inquiry to purchase and beyond.

Click-Through Rate

The percentage of people who click on a link after seeing it - calculated as clicks divided by impressions, used to measure both ad and organic search performance.

Dealer Management System

The core software system that manages a dealership's operations - inventory, sales, service, parts, accounting, and customer records.

A score (typically 0-100) that predicts how well a website will rank in search results, based on the quality and quantity of its backlink profile.

Identical or substantially similar content appearing at multiple URLs on the same site or across different sites, diluting SEO value and confusing search engines.

Finance and Insurance

The dealership department that handles vehicle financing, extended warranties, gap insurance, and other aftermarket products during the purchase process.

A filtering system on inventory pages that lets users narrow results by attributes like make, model, price, year, and mileage - requiring careful SEO management to avoid duplicate content.

A highlighted answer box at the top of Google search results that directly answers a question, pulled from a web page and displayed with a link to the source.

A dealership authorized by a vehicle manufacturer (OEM) to sell new vehicles of that brand, operating under the manufacturer's franchise agreement and compliance standards.

GAP Insurance

Guaranteed Asset Protection insurance that covers the difference between what a totaled or stolen vehicle is worth and what the owner still owes on their loan.

Google Business Profile

The free Google listing that controls how a dealership appears in Google Search, Maps, and the local pack - including hours, reviews, photos, and contact information.

Generative Engine Optimization

The practice of optimizing content to be cited by AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and other generative engines.

The process by which search engines add web pages to their database (index), making them eligible to appear in search results.

The practice of linking between pages on the same website to distribute page authority, help search engines understand site structure, and guide users to related content.

The practice of optimizing a dealership's inventory pages (VDPs and SRPs) for search engine visibility through unique descriptions, schema markup, and strategic URL structure.

The preferred format for implementing schema markup - a JavaScript notation embedded in HTML that provides structured data without altering the visible page content.

The process of identifying which marketing channels, content, and touchpoints contributed to a customer becoming a lead - connecting marketing spend to revenue.

The strategic process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to improve domain authority and search rankings - done through content, outreach, and community involvement.

A plain text file placed at the root of a website that tells AI language models which pages are most important and what the site is about - like robots.txt for AI.

The map-based section of Google search results that displays the top 3 local businesses for a location-based query, including ratings, hours, and directions.

The practice of optimizing a dealership's online presence to appear in location-based searches - "near me" queries, Google Maps, and the local pack.

A specific, multi-word search query with lower search volume but higher intent and lower competition than broad head terms.

Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price

The price a vehicle manufacturer recommends a dealership charge for a vehicle - the "sticker price" that serves as the starting point for negotiation.

Name, Address, Phone

The three core business identity fields - Name, Address, and Phone number - that must be consistent across all online directories and citations for local SEO.

Original Equipment Manufacturer

The vehicle manufacturer (Toyota, Ford, BMW, etc.) that a franchise dealership represents and whose compliance standards govern marketing activities.

How fast a web page loads and becomes interactive - a critical factor for both user experience and search engine rankings, especially on mobile devices.

A comprehensive, authoritative page that covers a broad topic in depth and serves as the central hub of a topic cluster, linking to all related supporting content.

Pay-Per-Click

A digital advertising model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks their ad - Google Ads is the most common PPC platform for dealerships.

Google Ads' rating of the quality and relevance of your keywords, ads, and landing pages - directly affecting ad position and cost per click.

An enhanced search result that displays additional information beyond the standard title and description - such as ratings, prices, FAQ answers, or event details.

A text file at the root of a website that tells search engine crawlers which pages they can and cannot access - the basic traffic directive for web crawlers.

Return on Investment

The ratio of net profit to investment cost - for dealership marketing, the revenue generated by a channel or campaign relative to what was spent.

Structured data code added to web pages that helps search engines and AI understand the content - enabling rich snippets, knowledge panels, and AI citations.

The underlying purpose behind a search query - whether the user wants information, is comparing options, looking for a specific site, or ready to take action.

Search Engine Marketing

The broader practice of marketing through search engines, encompassing both paid search advertising (PPC) and organic search optimization (SEO).

Search Engine Optimization

The practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results, driving organic (non-paid) traffic from Google and other search engines.

Search Engine Results Page

The page displayed by a search engine in response to a query, containing organic results, paid ads, featured snippets, local packs, and AI overviews.

Individual web pages created for each city or neighborhood a dealership serves, targeting location-specific search queries with unique, locally relevant content.

Search Results Page

The inventory listing page on a dealership website where buyers browse and filter available vehicles by make, model, price, and other criteria.

The optimization of a website's technical infrastructure - speed, crawlability, indexation, structured data, and architecture - to help search engines access and understand content.

A content architecture model where a comprehensive pillar page links to multiple related supporting pages, building topical authority and internal linking structure.

A website's demonstrated expertise on a specific topic, built through comprehensive, interlinked content coverage - a key factor in both search rankings and AI citations.

Vehicle Detail Page

The individual page on a dealership website dedicated to a single vehicle in inventory, containing photos, specifications, descriptions, and conversion opportunities.

A specific Schema.org type for marking up vehicle listings with structured data including make, model, year, price, mileage, condition, and availability.

Vehicle Identification Number

A unique 17-character alphanumeric code assigned to every vehicle, encoding manufacturer, model, year, engine, and production details.

A file that lists all important pages on a website, helping search engines discover and crawl content efficiently - especially important for large inventory sites.

A search query where the user gets their answer directly on the SERP (from a featured snippet, knowledge panel, or AI Overview) without clicking through to any website.